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The QC, Vol. 84, No. 03 • September 18, 1997

1997_09_18_001

WHITTIER
COLLEGE
September 18,1997
ampus
COLLEGE
■ Local
Heroes
Discover the movies of Whittier,
including Masters of the Universe.
SPORTS
■ POET
VICTORY!
The Whittier
football team beat
LaVerne on Friday
by the score of
34-13.
k .«mLtoto'*'I
*f «
The Voice Of The Campus Since 1914
OPINION TOPIC
Uptown:
It's right down the block,
but is it worth the walk?
CAMP U.S
■ Cain is J -vf^
Able
01
Senior Jeff Cain
returns from
England with less
hair but more
perspective.
"-TO '
Whittier Grads Have Highest Debt, U.S. News Says
■ COLLEGE IN THE
by Adam Pava
QC Editor-in-Chief
Whittier College was listed as
having the most debt load of all
national liberal arts colleges in the
eleventh annual "America's Best
Colleges" issue of U.S. News and
World Report. The category was
based on the average amount of
debt for 1996 graduates, $22,468,
and the percentage of 1996 graduates with debt, 59%.
"I'm not going to make excuses," Whittier College President
James L. Ash, Jr. said. "I think it
[the average debt of graduating
students at Whittier] is too high."
However, being listed as the
having highest debt load of all national liberal arts colleges does not
necessarily mean that Whittier
graduates owe more money than
graduates of other institutions; for
example, while 59% of Whittier's
class of '96 graduated with an average debt of $22,468, at Cornell
College in Iowa, 98% of the class
of '96 graduated with an average
debt of $19,125. Yet, Cornell College is listed as having the third
most debt in the U.S. News rankings.
"At least half of the ratings
game is how you format the numbers," Ash said. "[Our position in
the rankings] is more a feature of
how [U.S. News] does their ratings
than of the absolute quality of the
College. I happen to believe the
College is getting stronger."
Whittier College Provost and
Dean of Faculty Richard Millman
sees this rating as a reflection of the
College's mission to educate students from all financial backgrounds: "While this is unfortunate, I am not surprised," he said.
"At Whittier, we have a student
body that—in general—does not
come from high income families.
The richer the student's family, the
less the debt will be for a student,
because often times the parents pay
for their children's educations."
Millman will be working with
the Office of Enrollment and Office of Financial Aid to get a better
understanding of why the average,
Whittier graduate's debt is com-*:
See DEBT, page 5
Whittier Ranked in Higher Tier,
Second in Diversity in U.S. News
■ COLLEGE IN THE
NEWS
by Adam Pava
QC Editor-in-Chief
Whittier College was
ranked number two in the category of Campus Diversity
among national liberal arts colleges in U.S. News and World
Report's annual "America's
Best College" issue. At the
same time, tbu. \x. was
raised back into the third tier.
where it had been ranked for
two years before dropping into
the fourth tier last year.
Only Occidental College
was rated higher among national liberal arts colleges for
having a higher percentage of
le Whittier has
the highest percentage of Hispanic students in this category, 32%, Occidental has an
overall higher diversity "index" score.
Occidental has a 22% His-
See DIVERSITY, page 5
Exchange Program initiated Work Study Wages Decrease
with Hsi Lai University
■ ASIAN STUDIES
by Victoria Pohlmann
QC Staff Writer
Beginning in the spring of
1998, students will have the opportunity to partake in a further
study of.Asian cultures. According to Professor of History Robert Marks, an exchange program
between Whittier College and
Hsi Lai University in Rosemead
wiII be in place tor spring semester, if there are no complications.
Tile program allows Whittier
College students to regisxer for
selected courses at Hsi Lai Uni-
vereity, and vice-versa.
Marks is responsible for the
exchange program in the absence
of Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Kjciih'Tg, who is
spending a semester at Harvard.
A list of Hsi Lai courses
available to Wl ritt ie r students wil 1
be available at the Registrar Office. As new Hsi Lai courses are
introduced, course outlines will
be sent to the Whittier Registrar,
who will,in,tum forward them
to the appropriate department
chair along with a pre-approval
form.
Each class must first be pre-
approved by the chair, of that discipline's department. Classes
expected to be approved will be
religious studies courses and possibly a history clito . , hittierstu-
dents who want to take these
courses will need to confirm that
they have been pre-approved before K.
Thcag tbe-weenWhit-
tier and Hsi Lai was signed in
July. Hsi Lai students, who want
to take Whittier courses must first
obtain the instructor's permission
and professors are under no obligation to let any extra people into
their classes. Hsi Lai University
students'English skills need to he
sufficient enough to rake classes
at Whittier. Non-native English
speakers will need at least a score
of 550 on the standardized Tt )E-
FL test before they may register
for Whittier courses.
Marks expects advertisements
for Hsi Lai courses to be posted
around the Whittier campus prior
to registration for the spring semester. Whittier course catalogues will also be made available to Hsi Lai students. Chinese
language classes will not be available to Whittier students at Hsi
Lai as Whittier already offers
Chinese language classes.
■ FINANCES
by Megan J. Carver
QC Staff Writer
Work study rates have dropped
this semester due to the now constantly-changing California minimum wage.
State and Federal increases in
the California minimum wage have
called for a revision in the wages of
work study jobs. This means a reduction in student rates for a few
reasons. Director of Human Resources Becky Campos explains that
if wages were to remain the same as
last year or increase with the minimum wage, Whittier College might
exceed its work study budget.
With increased wage rates,
Human Resources found that many
students in second and especially
thirdandfourthyearpositions would,
in some cases, be making as mucli—
or nearly as mucli—as their supervisors. Rather than raise the tuition
more than the current amount in
order to pay supervisors more, students experienced a wage decrease.
This, however, is not a permanent
revision.
In a memorandum sent to all
work study supervisors by Campos
in July, she said "the new pay schedule may indicate a rate reduction for
a student worker who is continuing in
the same job. If this is the case... and
[the supervisor believes] an adjust-
mentofsometypeisjustified,please
contact [Campos] to discuss the issue." Campos stated that there has
been a wage adjustment for every
student whose supervisors have
brought this problem to her attention.
Only first- and second-year
level one workers have wage increases because of the minimum
wage increase; these prices raise
from $5.00 to $5.15 and $5.25 to
$5.45, respectively. The wage decreases differences range from as
much as$1.35forfourth-year third-
level workers to as little as 100 for
first-year second-level workers.
While higher-level work study
students will have to work more
hours to fulfill their work study
awards, students in level one jobs
will be fulfilling their awards sooner than they did last year. This
could mean more work study open- •
ings to fill, giving those students
who hadproblem coordinating then-
schedules more leeway.
Studentreactionstothedecrease
are mixed. Junior Sara Krogh, upon
returning for her second year to the
Office of Residential Life, said that
she noticed that she was not making
as much as she had anticipated, but
at least she got a raise.
Other students were not so easily pleased. Junior Robert Turner
calls the wage situation "awkward"
and does not understand why students who were looking forward to
working fewer hours to fulfill their
awards are now forced to work more.
Sophomore Anna Neese, who
is a work study student for the Music, Theater and English Departments said, "we were just mentioned in U.S. News as being the
college students with the most in
debt after graduation—and this
wage decrease will just make it
worse."
Campos said that, as of March
1, 1998, the California minimum
wage will increase to $5.75 per
hour. This increase might push the
current work-study decrease in the
same downward spiral.
news
you can use
■ Free Tutoring
Students can receive tutoring from professor recom-
"mended tutors in most subjects through the Philiadel-
phia House. Tutor request
forms can be found on the
second floor. Tutors are then
found usually within one
week. Students can also
reach Heather for information at Ext. 4365.
ISSUE 3 • VOLUME 84

WHITTIER
COLLEGE
September 18,1997
ampus
COLLEGE
■ Local
Heroes
Discover the movies of Whittier,
including Masters of the Universe.
SPORTS
■ POET
VICTORY!
The Whittier
football team beat
LaVerne on Friday
by the score of
34-13.
k .«mLtoto'*'I
*f «
The Voice Of The Campus Since 1914
OPINION TOPIC
Uptown:
It's right down the block,
but is it worth the walk?
CAMP U.S
■ Cain is J -vf^
Able
01
Senior Jeff Cain
returns from
England with less
hair but more
perspective.
"-TO '
Whittier Grads Have Highest Debt, U.S. News Says
■ COLLEGE IN THE
by Adam Pava
QC Editor-in-Chief
Whittier College was listed as
having the most debt load of all
national liberal arts colleges in the
eleventh annual "America's Best
Colleges" issue of U.S. News and
World Report. The category was
based on the average amount of
debt for 1996 graduates, $22,468,
and the percentage of 1996 graduates with debt, 59%.
"I'm not going to make excuses," Whittier College President
James L. Ash, Jr. said. "I think it
[the average debt of graduating
students at Whittier] is too high."
However, being listed as the
having highest debt load of all national liberal arts colleges does not
necessarily mean that Whittier
graduates owe more money than
graduates of other institutions; for
example, while 59% of Whittier's
class of '96 graduated with an average debt of $22,468, at Cornell
College in Iowa, 98% of the class
of '96 graduated with an average
debt of $19,125. Yet, Cornell College is listed as having the third
most debt in the U.S. News rankings.
"At least half of the ratings
game is how you format the numbers," Ash said. "[Our position in
the rankings] is more a feature of
how [U.S. News] does their ratings
than of the absolute quality of the
College. I happen to believe the
College is getting stronger."
Whittier College Provost and
Dean of Faculty Richard Millman
sees this rating as a reflection of the
College's mission to educate students from all financial backgrounds: "While this is unfortunate, I am not surprised," he said.
"At Whittier, we have a student
body that—in general—does not
come from high income families.
The richer the student's family, the
less the debt will be for a student,
because often times the parents pay
for their children's educations."
Millman will be working with
the Office of Enrollment and Office of Financial Aid to get a better
understanding of why the average,
Whittier graduate's debt is com-*:
See DEBT, page 5
Whittier Ranked in Higher Tier,
Second in Diversity in U.S. News
■ COLLEGE IN THE
NEWS
by Adam Pava
QC Editor-in-Chief
Whittier College was
ranked number two in the category of Campus Diversity
among national liberal arts colleges in U.S. News and World
Report's annual "America's
Best College" issue. At the
same time, tbu. \x. was
raised back into the third tier.
where it had been ranked for
two years before dropping into
the fourth tier last year.
Only Occidental College
was rated higher among national liberal arts colleges for
having a higher percentage of
le Whittier has
the highest percentage of Hispanic students in this category, 32%, Occidental has an
overall higher diversity "index" score.
Occidental has a 22% His-
See DIVERSITY, page 5
Exchange Program initiated Work Study Wages Decrease
with Hsi Lai University
■ ASIAN STUDIES
by Victoria Pohlmann
QC Staff Writer
Beginning in the spring of
1998, students will have the opportunity to partake in a further
study of.Asian cultures. According to Professor of History Robert Marks, an exchange program
between Whittier College and
Hsi Lai University in Rosemead
wiII be in place tor spring semester, if there are no complications.
Tile program allows Whittier
College students to regisxer for
selected courses at Hsi Lai Uni-
vereity, and vice-versa.
Marks is responsible for the
exchange program in the absence
of Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Kjciih'Tg, who is
spending a semester at Harvard.
A list of Hsi Lai courses
available to Wl ritt ie r students wil 1
be available at the Registrar Office. As new Hsi Lai courses are
introduced, course outlines will
be sent to the Whittier Registrar,
who will,in,tum forward them
to the appropriate department
chair along with a pre-approval
form.
Each class must first be pre-
approved by the chair, of that discipline's department. Classes
expected to be approved will be
religious studies courses and possibly a history clito . , hittierstu-
dents who want to take these
courses will need to confirm that
they have been pre-approved before K.
Thcag tbe-weenWhit-
tier and Hsi Lai was signed in
July. Hsi Lai students, who want
to take Whittier courses must first
obtain the instructor's permission
and professors are under no obligation to let any extra people into
their classes. Hsi Lai University
students'English skills need to he
sufficient enough to rake classes
at Whittier. Non-native English
speakers will need at least a score
of 550 on the standardized Tt )E-
FL test before they may register
for Whittier courses.
Marks expects advertisements
for Hsi Lai courses to be posted
around the Whittier campus prior
to registration for the spring semester. Whittier course catalogues will also be made available to Hsi Lai students. Chinese
language classes will not be available to Whittier students at Hsi
Lai as Whittier already offers
Chinese language classes.
■ FINANCES
by Megan J. Carver
QC Staff Writer
Work study rates have dropped
this semester due to the now constantly-changing California minimum wage.
State and Federal increases in
the California minimum wage have
called for a revision in the wages of
work study jobs. This means a reduction in student rates for a few
reasons. Director of Human Resources Becky Campos explains that
if wages were to remain the same as
last year or increase with the minimum wage, Whittier College might
exceed its work study budget.
With increased wage rates,
Human Resources found that many
students in second and especially
thirdandfourthyearpositions would,
in some cases, be making as mucli—
or nearly as mucli—as their supervisors. Rather than raise the tuition
more than the current amount in
order to pay supervisors more, students experienced a wage decrease.
This, however, is not a permanent
revision.
In a memorandum sent to all
work study supervisors by Campos
in July, she said "the new pay schedule may indicate a rate reduction for
a student worker who is continuing in
the same job. If this is the case... and
[the supervisor believes] an adjust-
mentofsometypeisjustified,please
contact [Campos] to discuss the issue." Campos stated that there has
been a wage adjustment for every
student whose supervisors have
brought this problem to her attention.
Only first- and second-year
level one workers have wage increases because of the minimum
wage increase; these prices raise
from $5.00 to $5.15 and $5.25 to
$5.45, respectively. The wage decreases differences range from as
much as$1.35forfourth-year third-
level workers to as little as 100 for
first-year second-level workers.
While higher-level work study
students will have to work more
hours to fulfill their work study
awards, students in level one jobs
will be fulfilling their awards sooner than they did last year. This
could mean more work study open- •
ings to fill, giving those students
who hadproblem coordinating then-
schedules more leeway.
Studentreactionstothedecrease
are mixed. Junior Sara Krogh, upon
returning for her second year to the
Office of Residential Life, said that
she noticed that she was not making
as much as she had anticipated, but
at least she got a raise.
Other students were not so easily pleased. Junior Robert Turner
calls the wage situation "awkward"
and does not understand why students who were looking forward to
working fewer hours to fulfill their
awards are now forced to work more.
Sophomore Anna Neese, who
is a work study student for the Music, Theater and English Departments said, "we were just mentioned in U.S. News as being the
college students with the most in
debt after graduation—and this
wage decrease will just make it
worse."
Campos said that, as of March
1, 1998, the California minimum
wage will increase to $5.75 per
hour. This increase might push the
current work-study decrease in the
same downward spiral.
news
you can use
■ Free Tutoring
Students can receive tutoring from professor recom-
"mended tutors in most subjects through the Philiadel-
phia House. Tutor request
forms can be found on the
second floor. Tutors are then
found usually within one
week. Students can also
reach Heather for information at Ext. 4365.
ISSUE 3 • VOLUME 84